On my ad-free cooking blog I only post recipes that people tell me they love – some are healthy, some are not, but they are all delicious! I record these recipes because I love to cook, and people tell me they appreciate looking at and trying out my recipes. Please write a comment if you have any thoughts about my posts so I know if I should keep experimenting with new recipes, documenting them, and paying to keep this blog advertisement-free. Thanks for the feedback! Enjoy!

meats

I made these delicious red wine braised short ribs on Christmas Eve for my good friends, John and Dale. We enjoyed some great conversation, music, wine, and of course the food! After they went home I fell into a deep sleep with a belly full of good food. That night I woke up many times smelling the delicious aroma of this meal, and fell happily back to sleep each time thinking about our evening and all the amazing foods I’ve eaten, that night and others before . . .

It’s definitely a special meal (the photo doesn’t do it justice – sometimes we just want to eat and not wait for a good photo for the blog), and a bonus is that my whole apartment and the hallways were filled with the amazing scents of it while it was cooking – I’m a bit surprised that no neighbours invited themselves over. When John and Dale arrived they said they could smell it all the way down the hallway, and they had their fingers crossed it was my cooking that they were smelling.

I’ve eaten this meal at a friend’s place before, and have seen many recipes for similar meals. This is my version – you can’t go wrong with a long cooking time in lots of red wine and beef stock (even better if you have a homemade beef stock) and the flavouring of the mirepoix.

To make the beef short ribs they are first browned in butter, then the mirepoix is added, then a whole bottle of red wine and some beef stock. It needs to spend a few hours in the oven before it becomes fall-off-the-bone, melt-in-your-mouth tender and tasty. I served it on buttermilk mashed potatoes with glazed carrots (brought by John and Dale). So delicious!

While the ribs are cooking you can be free to attend to other dinner preparations. The ribs can be made a day ahead of time and then reheated in the oven, if you need to save time on the day of the meal.

This recipe should serve at least four people, but it’s also really nice to have leftovers.

For the potatoes I just boiled them and added some heated buttermilk and butter. After draining, I mashed the potatoes by hand with a masher (not an electric mixer) in the pot they were cooked in, with some salt and pepper and the heated buttermilk and butter. I made sure I didn’t over-mash them -they become gluey with too much mashing.

You need a deep covered baking dish for this. If you don’t have one you can cover any oven-proof deep dish in foil. I try to avoid using foil since it it not recyclable, but if you need to, that’s what it’s there for.

If you enjoy this recipe or others on Trust in Kim, please let me know. I write this blog as a hobby, and work full time as a teacher. I’d appreciate feedback as I’m not sure if I will continue writing these recipes; it takes a lot of time and some cost to do this and also keep it ad-free.

What you need:

3 lbs bone-in short ribs

butter for browning

1 stalk celery

2 carrots

1 small leek

1/2 small onion or a few shallots

3 cloves garlic

1 bottle red wine (something you would like to drink)

4 cups beef stock (homemade or a better quality one with no MSG – I used —–)

salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons flour for the gravy

What you do:

Salt the beef generously, on all sides, a few hours or a day before cooking.

Prepare your mirepoix by chopping the carrot, celery, leek and onion. Also mince the garlic.

Preheat the oven to 325F.

Place a French oven or other heavy lidded baker on medium high heat and add some butter. Make sure you wait until the pot is hot enough, then add the beef and brown it on all sides. The beef will “tell you when it is done” by releasing from the pan – you should not have to pull it off. Turn the beef until each side has browned – you may need to do this in two batches. Place the beef on a dish to be added again later.

After removing the beef, lower the heat and add the mirepoix to the pan and cook for about two minutes; it should not brown, just cook slowly. Add the garlic and cook briefly, then add the red wine and beef stock. Bring the liquids to a boil and cook until in has reduced by about 1/3.

Add the beef back to the pot, making sure it is submerged. Place the lidded baking dish in the oven and cook for about 2 & 1/2 to 3 hours. Now… enjoy a glass of wine and get the rest of your dinner ready. You may even have time to sit down…

After spending that long time in the oven, the beef has become very tender, and you have magically prepared everything else you need including the mashed potatoes. So now you just have to get the gravy ready.

Remove the beef from the pan and place in another lidded dish to keep warm. Strain all the vegetables from the pan and save the liquid to make the sauce. Place the pan back on medium heat and whisk the 2 tablespoons of flour into 1/4 cup of water. Add to the warm pan, whisking until it is smooth. Add the reserved pan juices and bring to a boil to thicken them a bit.

Enjoy the beef with the mashed potatoes and sauce, and hopefully some nice veggies on the side. Oh, and a glass of red wine! Enjoy!

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As soon as I saw this recipe in Deb Perelman’s Smitten Kitchen Every Day I knew I would have to make it soon – and I know it will be one of my regular dishes. It’s got that great comfort food feel to it, and it was liked greatly by all the tasters. It smelled so good that I didn’t even take time to get a better photo!

I made a few changesto the recipe: It was written as a chicken recipe, but I used turkey; I find it easier to get good quality ground turkey at my grocery stores, plus in my opinion turkey has a little more flavour. I substituted non-dairy milk and cream since I have a lactose sensitivity. I wrote the recipe up with the option of using a non-dairy butter substitute, but I still used butter because there’s really no substitute for the flavour, and I’m willing to suffer a bit for that goodness. The chicken stock I used is homemade; I store it in the freezer for times like this, because I haven’t found a store-bought stock that tastes nearly as good. For the seasoning, next time I would add the salt and pepper to the sauce at the last minute, rather than before adding the meatballs as the recipe specified. I found that the meatballs contributed to the flavour of the sauce, and it was slightly over-salted.

This meal serves four, and I served it with some gorgeous tomatoes from my Uncle Arnie’s garden, just with some salt and pepper cracked on top, and a little olive oil if people wanted to drizzle that on. Red wine too! All in all, a super delicious meal!

To make the meatballs, begin by heating a large frying pan and adding half the olive oil and butter. Once that is hot, add the minced onions and a pinch of salt. Stir the onions on medium heat for about 5-7 minutes; the onions should become a deep golden brown when they are done. Remove them from the heat and allow to cool slightly.

Put all the meatball ingredients in a bowl, including the cooled onions, and stir to combine, not overmixing. Using wet hands, form the meatballs using about 2 tablespoons of the mixture at a time. Place them on a plate.

Using the same frying pan, heat up more of the olive oil and butter, and place the meatballs in the frying pan. Don’t be tempted to turn them until they have sufficiently browned or they will fall apart! Once one side has browned, roll each meatball, and keep doing this until they are browned all over. Place the cooked meatball on a plate – they will not be cooked through; this will happen later. I had to do this step in multiple batches so I that didn’t overcrowd the frying pan.

Now is a good time to start boiling a large pot of water; if it’s ready before you need it, you can always turn it off and bring it back to a boil later.

To make the sauce, add the Marsala/sherry/Madiera to the frying pan and let it boil, scraping all those tasty meatball bits off the bottom of the pan. Cook until the liquid has almost disappeared. Add the 3 tablespoons of butter to the pan and allow it to melt before adding the flour. Cook this mixture, while stirring, for one minute. Add the broth slowly, whisking it into the flour the whole time; make sure it boils before adding more. Add the cream, bring it to a simmer, and then add the meatballs. Reduce the heat and let the meatballs simmer for 10 minutes, or until they are cooked through. Taste the sauce to see if you need to add more salt and pepper.

Towards the end of the sauce and meatball cooking time, cook the noodles in the salted water, according the the package instructions. I like to start testing the doneness after 5 minutes of cooking time, to make sure I don’t overcook them. Nobody likes a soggy noodle!

Place the drained noodles in a large serving bowl or platter and toss them with some butter. Pour the meatballs and sauce over the noodles and garnish with the chives.

Enjoy!

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Here’s a take on a delicious salmon soba noodle meal I posted recently. Although I don’t get a lot of comments on my blog (? please comment if you like or don’t like something – I need to know you’re out there!!!), a lot of people told me in person that they have made this dish and loved it. Me too! And because I loved it so much I worked on altering it a little to make a new meal.

It’s easy, tasty, and can be used for a leftover meal the next day. The additional gai lan is something I really like, as I feel it’s important to eat a lot of veggies, and grilling them is delicious.

This recipe is designed for two people, so double or triple for more people.

Combine the soy sauce, rice vinegar, mirin, sesame oil, ginger, sugar, and crushed pepper flakes. Chop the chicken, then place it in a shallow dish and pour about 1/4 cup of the marinade (the rest will be the dressing) over it. Cover and refrigerate for about 20 minutes.

Toss the gai lan in some olive oil.

Preheat the grill to high. Boil a large pot of water to cook the soba noodles. Follow the instructions on the package (mine took about 7 minutes). Drain the noodles, then place them in a bowl of cold water until they have cooled off.

Toss the gai lan in some olive oil.

Remove the chicken from the marinade and grill it for about 5-7 minutes, until it has cooked through.

Grill the gai lan for a few minutes, turning when the leaves on one side begin to brown. Drizzle the gai lan with a bit of dressing, or just sprinkle with a little salt when it’s done.

Slice the cucumbers as thinly as you can – I used a vegetable peeler to do this, but a mandoline works well too.

Once the noodles have cooled, drain them and place them in a large bowl.

Place the soba noodles, cucumber, scallions, sesame seeds and some of the dressing in the bowl. Give it all a good toss, adding more dressing if you need it, and some freshly squeezed lime if you wish. Chop and place the chicken on top of the salad and garnish with some sesame seeds if you wish. Serve with the grilled gai lan.

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If you have a thing for tacos, you’re going to love this slow-cooked beef taco recipe. The blackened peppers, slightly caramelized onions, and red wine give this recipe a lot of depth in flavour. Because of the long cooking time the meat becomes super tender, so you don’t need to buy an expensive cut of meat. It makes enough for a crowd, and also freezes well.

The recipe called for using a slow-cooker, but I don’t have one, so I cooked it in my Le Creuset baker in a low oven for a few hours.

Serve with your favourite taco toppings. Cilantro is always good, extra lime wedges, and your favourite bottled salsa. I didn’t use the Mexican crema that the original recipe suggested. Nor did I get to serve it with the Guacamolata (avocado sauce) that I love, since there were no ripe avocados available in any of the five stores I tried!. I absolutely love X’nipek on this, a red onion topping that is really easy to make; it adds a little tartness and spice, and looks really pretty on top of a taco.

Take the beef out of the fridge 1/2 an hour before you begin cooking, then season generously with salt and pepper.

If you have a gas range or a barbecue, turn it on high. Place the poblano and serrano peppers over the flame, turning from time to time, until they are blackened all over. You can also do this in the oven under the broiler. Once blackened, place the peppers in a bowl and cover with a lid. Let them sit for about 15 minutes before removing most of the skin, and cutting out the stem and seeds. It’s okay to have some blackened bits; this will give your tacos some smoky flavour, and makes it look authentic. Roughly chop the peppers.

Preheat the oven to 250F/120C.

Put a large skillet on high heat, then pour in a little glug of vegetable oil. Once the oil is smoking hot add the beef; let it brown on each side for about 2 minutes, then remove it from the pan, keeping the drippings to cook the onions in.

Reduce the heat to medium-high and add the onions, stirring often to avoid burning. Cook until they have softened and become browned. If they seem too dry you can add a bit more oil to the pan.

Add the chopped chile peppers and garlic, and cook for about 2 – 3 minutes, making sure that the garlic does not burn.

Add the red wine and stir to scrape up all the nice brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Continue cooking until the wine has reduced by half, then add the diced tomatoes. Bring the mixture to a boil, then place the beef back in the pot.

Put the pot in the oven an cook for 2-3 hours – this will give you lots of time to prepare the toppings, or make your own tortillas, and enjoy a cerveza. My beef was done somewhere after the two hour mark. It will be easy to tell if it is done – the meat will fall apart when you pull it with a fork. When it is done, shred the beef using two forks.

Taste, then add more salt and pepper if you think it is needed. Sprinkle the chopped fresh oregano on top.

To warm the tortillas, wrap them in a clean damp cloth and microwave on high for 1 minute.

To serve, place some of the shredded beef in the middle of a tortilla. Top with a little bit of the pickled onion, chopped tomato, or whatever other topping you like. It’s nice to squeeze a little lime on top.

Enjoy! Please let me know if you enjoyed the recipe, if there are any typos, or what you did differently!

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The other day, in the middle of a bleak, grey Vancouver winter week, I needed to make something warm and comforting. And since I love lamb, this seemed the perfect thing to make. If you don’t love lamb, you could substitute beef.

I really enjoyed the variety of vegetables in this stew. Ass well, a rich broth was created using red wine and beef broth, with the lamb, vegetables and herbs adding flavour. You can use any root vegetables you wish, or just go with the ones I’ve listed in the ingredients.

I found the recipe on this site. It was posted as a pressure cooker recipe, but since I don’t have a pressure cooker, I made it using the slower stove-top method. I know that a lot of people got Instapots for Christmas this year, so this would be a suitable recipe to use that.

In the original recipe Herbes de Provence are used, but I prefer to make my own mix. One reason is that I already have all the herbs that I need to go into it, so I don’t want to buy yet another jar for my spice drawer. As well, I think lavender makes a great sachet to put in the dryer, or to keep clothing drawers smelling fresh – but I really don’t like to eat lavender. So I made my recipe sans lavender. It has thyme, oregano, and tarragon, and there is already a spring of rosemary in the stew, so I didn’t put in more of that.

Serves at least 4 people with some bread, or on top of mashed potatoes.

What you need:

1/2 kg / 1poundlamb,cubed

1/2cupflour

1/2teaspoonsalt

a few grinds of pepper

2tablespoonsolive oil

1 shallot, minced

2-3 cloves garlic,minced

1cupdry red wine

4cupsbeef broth

1sprig fresh rosemary

2 fresh bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon fresh tarragon

1cupred pearl onionsor 1 sweet onion, chopped

2cupsmushroomsquartered

4cupsroot vegetablescubed- I used a little bit each of carrot, potato, parsnip, sweet potato and turnip

several grinds sea salt and pepper to taste

What you do:

Place the flour, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add the cubed lamb and toss until all the pieces are coated. Remove the lamb from the bowl, discarding the remainder of the flour.

Heat a large French oven or pot to medium high heat and pour in the olive oil. Add the lamb to the pot, along with the shallot and garlic, cooking the lamb until it has browned all over.

Pour the wine and broth into the pot with the lamb, along with the rosemary, bay leaves, thyme, oregano and tarragon. Bring to a boil and cook without a lid on for 1 to 1 & 1/2 hours, stirring from time to time. The lamb should be tender at the end of this cooking time.

Before the lamb cooking time is done, prepare the vegetables. If you are using the pearl onions, blanch them in boiling water for a few seconds, snip off the root end, and pop the onions out of their skins.

When the lamb is tender, add the vegetables to the pot and cook for about 30 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.

Taste before adding pepper, and possibly some salt. If you used a store-bought beef broth you may not need to add salt. If you like you can garnish with a little parsley.

This makes excellent leftovers, and is possibly even better when reheated.

I was skeptical at first when I saw cinnamon in the recipe, because that’s something I’ve never had with chicken, but I’m so glad I took the risk and made this one. Paired with the yogurt sauce it is really a delicious combo.

What you need for the chicken:

1 (4-pound/ 1.8 kg) roasting chicken

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon peppercorns

1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds

3 cardamom pods

1 tablespoon curry powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 head garlic cloves separated and unpeeled, plus 6 peeled cloves

2 tablespoons finely grated ginger

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 & 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 shallots, unpeeled and quartered

3 sticks cinnamon

1 cup chicken broth

What you need for the sauce:

1 cup plain yogurt, at room temperature

2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped

3 tablespoons chopped cilantro

What you do:

Preheat the oven to 450F. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Place the chicken breast-side up on a rack in a roasting pan. If you don’t have a rack you can place some carrots under the chicken to raise it up.

Combine the cumin seeds, peppercorns, coriander seeds and cardamom pods in a small frying pan. Over medium heat toast the spices, swirling the spices around for about 2-4 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly, then grind with a mortar and pestle or in a grinder. Mix with the curry powder, cinnamon and red pepper flakes.

Chop the 6 cloves of peeled garlic finely and combine it with the ginger and olive oil, then rub this mixture all over the chicken. Sprinkle the chicken with salt, then sprinkle on the spice mixture.

Place the unpeeled garlic, shallot quarters, and cinnamon sticks inside the chicken cavity, then tie the legs together with kitchen twine.

Place the chicken in the oven and set a timer for 30 minutes.

If you are making potatoes, place them around the chicken about 20 minutes into the roasting time, and drizzle them with olive oil.

At the 30 minute mark, baste the chicken with half of the broth.

Roast for 20 minutes more, then baste with the remaining broth.

Continue to roast the chicken for about 20 more minutes, until the juices run clear when the leg joint it pierced with a knife. If you have a meat thermometer, it should read 165F/ 74C. My chicken cooked very quickly, so I recommend checking it earlier than you think you might need to. Remove the chicken from the oven and let it rest while you prepare the sauce. Salt and pepper the potatoes, then place them in a serving dish. Cover to keep warm.

Separate the fat from the pan juices, discarding the fat. Place the pan juices in a saucepan and heat to boiling. Reduce the heat, then whisk in the yogurt. It may curdle, so you can press the sauce through a sieve if this happens. Remove the sauce from the heat and add the tomatoes and cilantro, setting some of these aside to garnish with if you wish.

Serve with the sauce on the side. When I served this people found the sauce made a very nice topping for the potatoes too.

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This is a recipe for Thai-style chicken that is cooked in a beautifully aromatic coconut curry, along with roasted vegetables. To the eggplant and red pepper I added cauliflower for my version, because I like to jam as many veggies in as possible. Feel free to substitute your favourite vegetables for any of these. I served this on jasmine rice.

This recipe was found in the cookbook Whitewater Cooks with Passion by Shelly Adams.

If you have trouble finding lemongrass that isn’t dried out or woody, here’s a product that you might be interested in. It’s lemongrass in a tube, made by Gourmet Garden. So until I can extend our summer growing season in Vancouver and grow it in my garden, I’ll be using this product. I plan to freeze portions of it so that it extends its shelf life.